The Fall of Hope
by Findel
Summary: Sylphiel is heading to Sailoon when she stops in the town of Toivoa for the night.   It is in this simple town that she finds an old friend and finds that her friend is losing a fight with his inner demons.


**The Fall of Hope**

**Chapter: 1**

**Wreckage of the Past**

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><p>Just a little something I wanted to try. Idea that popped into my head and I'm going to run with it. And, I'm starting this off with a character I usually don't...let's have some fun.<p>

A/N: I have not finished watching Slayers Revolution/Evolution-R so there isn't going to be anything from them here. I don't feel I can do any references or character changes justice without finishing them so until that happens just stick with the story through Try when it comes to this work.

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><p>The town of Toivoa was a simple place in the middle of the forest. A small town with simple people that had not want or need for the fancy things found in the large cities. Toivoa was made of small homes along the dirt roads that connected everything within the area. The people that lived in Toivoa supported themselves with their own skills and talents. From farming to blacksmithing everything was taken care of by the townsfolk. It was in this peaceful that there was a large home at the top of a hill just outside the town. The large home was not over styled or outlandish but it did stick out due to its size alone. Whereas most homes in town looked to only had two to three rooms the house on the hill looked to be sized for five or more. It was into this place came a young girl with long purple hair dress from head to toe in differing shades of purple. She smiled as civilization, no matter how small, came into view as her soft green eyes took in the small town. She continued to walk towards the town as she looked around to get her bearings. To the east the forest continued on off into the distance while to the west the forest had surrendered a plot of land that the town had setup for fields. It being late spring the crops were just showing signs of bursting from the ground in the continuance of the cycle of life. To the north was most of the town which consisted of shop fronts and homes just behind them. As she continued looking north her eyes made their way up a hill to come to rest on the large manor home at the top. The young girl stopped in her advance and looked at the house while thinking, 'That is the odd part out about the town.'<p>

As she was musing she was quickly brought out of her haze by a call from behind, "Hey Lady! Move I have a delivery to make and if it is late it will be my head."

The woman turned to see a young man driving a cart pulled by two horses. In the cart behind the man where stacked six large kegs of what she would guess to be wine or liquor. She moved to the side of the road and let the cart pass before thinking, 'Why would this small you need so much alcohol?'

She continued towards the town and before long came to the front. She stopped and looked around to try to find an inn for the night. As she looked she noticed that a lot of the townsfolk that were near the front had stopped to stare at her for a moment. It was true she probably was a sight to see if you were not used to her outfit. The girl a bit tall for a lady and dressed head to toe in purple. She wore a long purple shirt that came down past her hips. From under the shirt came purplish gray leggings that ended purple boots that were accented by yellow at the top. Over her shoulders came a black cape that hung low to the point of almost touching the ground. At the top of the cape where two purple shoulder pads that had yellow tassels pouring down from the ends. From her collar came a strip of purple cloth, with yellow accents running the length, that hung down the middle of her body and came to an end at her hips. The final part of the outfit was her purple gloves with yellow accents at the top. Yes, the young woman was a high dressed sight to see for the folk of Toivoa. After a moment the woman noticed the looks but just smiled and waved as she headed towards the inn she had spotted. The woman smiled as she walked and waved to anyone that turned their head towards her. After a few minutes she came to the small inn and opened the door. Once inside she noticed that the common room was very small. A small bar in the back and only three tables were all that were fit into the room. As she was looking around she heard from the side, "Can I help you miss?"

She turned to see an older man behind a desk she smiled before walking up and replying, "Yes, I would like a room for the night."

The clerk nodded before opening a dusty book and flipping two pages before stopping. He pulled a quill out of the ink well and asked, "Name?"

"Sylphiel," the young woman replied, "Sylphiel Nels Rada."

The clerk nodded as her wrote her name down in the registry before shutting the book. He turned a grabbed one of the five keys on the wall and turned back before saying, "You have room number one."

Sylphiel accepted the key and was about to turn to head up the stair when the clerk asked, "I don't mean to pry but if you don't mind me asking...what brings you to Toivoa young lady?"

Sylphiel smiled before replying, "I'm heading towards Sailoon and this seemed like a nice town to stop at."

The clerk smiled as the young woman's cheerfulness seemed to be infectious. He chuckled slightly before saying, "You taking the long route aren't you?"

Sylphiel nodded before saying, "I enjoy scenic walks so it doesn't bother me."

Sylphiel eyes opened a bit when she asked, "By the way, I was almost run off the road by a cart with six large casts of wine in it. Why would a town like this need that much wine...is there are festival about to happen," enthusiasm pouring from her being.

The clerk shook his head before saying, "No, that was Roger and he only delivers to one place here. All that wine was for the large manor at the top of the hill."

Sylphiel cocked her head, slightly confused at that much wine for one person, and asked, "What does the owner of the house need that much wine for...are they throwing a party?"

The clerk shook his head again before saying, "Nope, nothing so glamorous. The man that owns that house is just an out and out drunk. Roger makes quite a living doing his three months relays from Zelphilia to here and back."

Sylphiel's eyes were wide with this revelation and thought out loud, "I wonder if there's anything I can do to help?"

"What do you mean my dear," the clerk asked confused.

Sylphiel smiled before replying, "Well, I'm a priestess of Siaragg and I could help the man if he is in pain..."

The clerk slammed his hands on the desk before saying, "My dear you want nothing to do with him. He is as mean as a rattlesnake and tougher than a demon. Just leave him be...we will all be better for it."

As Sylphiel was about to protest the idea of not helping someone there came a shout, "Bandits," from outside.

Both Sylphiel and the clerk rushed outside to see a group of bandits heading up the hill towards the large manor home. The clerk sighed and turned around to head back inside just to be stopped by Sylphiel asking, "Isn't anyone going to help him?"

The clerk sighed before saying, "Young lady there is no need. The reason we put up with him is all the bandits attack him and not us...he will be fine," and walking back inside.

Sylphiel was about to say something when she heard another door shut. She turned and looked down the street to see the entire area was become devoid of people. All of the townsfolk were going inside and no one was going towards the bandits to help out. To say Sylphiel was shocked was an understatement. She wanted to yell at the town for abandoning one of its own but she did not have time. As the bandit were drawing closer to the home Sylphiel took off running down the street determined to not let the man fight the battle alone. As Sylphiel began to climb the hill the bandits had made it the the stone fence around the manor. The leader of the bandits jumped the fence and drew his sword as he continued towards the house. The front door of the house opened and out stepped a man dressed in white. He had a hood over his head and moved like the sunlight was causing him issues. As Sylphiel drew closer she saw a wine bottle in the man's hand and watched as he turned towards the bandit leader. The man took a chug from the wine bottle before pointing at the on coming bandit leader. The phrase, "Give'me you' money," was heard before the man in white seemed to shake for a moment.

"Please don't hurt him," Sylphiel shouted which seemed to get the attention of the bandit leader.

Sylphiel stood there ready to protect herself as the bandit leader's eyes had focused in on her. The bandit was about to step towards her when he instantly burst into flames. The leader did not even have time to scream before he pasted out from the pain. As the flames died down both Sylphiel and the other bandits watched with wide eyes as the man in white lowered his extended hand showing that he was the one that called forth the flames. The man took another chug from the wine bottle as he walked towards the charred body of the leader. Once the man was right beside the leader her brought his foot back and with all his might kicked the leader. The leader's comatose body flew over the fence and rolled down the hill to land in a lump. The man brought the bottle to his lips and drank deeply before tipping his head back to finish off the rest of the drink. As his head tipped back his hood fell back to reveal a man with blue skin. His face was blue with rocks spread over the area. His metallic hair gleamed in the sun as he finished the bottle and looked at the bandit before asking, "Anyone else?"

The bandits ran down the hill screaming in terror as they now saw a demon own the house. As the group disappear off into the forest Sylphiel came to her wits and asked in a hushed tone, "Zel...Zel...Zelgadis?"

Zelgadis reacted to his name, the first time in a while anyone had used it, before saying, "I don't need you help Sylphiel. I can take care of things here...just be on your way and forget I was ever here."

Sylphiel watched as Zelgadis turned and started heading back into the house, stumbling once or twice as he went. Sylphiel shook herself out of the haze before running to catch up. She grabbed a hold of Zelgadis' cloak and saying, "Please, Mister Zelgadis...tell me what happened."

It was only after she had grabbed Zelgadis that Sylphiel noticed that he reeked of alcohol. It was so strong she almost stumbled back, but she stood strong and waited. "I told you I don't need your help," Zelgadis replied as he began to move again.

Sylphiel pulled on his cloak to keep him from walking away before replying, "Something happened and I can help you. I know we don't know each other that well but I can help you Zelgadis...I can get other to help. Miss Amelia, Gourry-dear or even Miss Lina...I can get them here if you need help."

"Don't you dare involve her," Zelgadis yelled as he spun in a rage.

Sylphiel, backing up because of the movement, lost her footing and fell just in time to miss the back of Zelgadis hand that had swung in her direction. With nothing there Zelgadis' blow kept going and he spun more than he thought. This combine with his inebriated state cause the chimera to loose his footing and fall to the ground with a thud. Sylphiel watched the fall with her hands pulled up to her mouth. As Zelgadis crashed she quickly crawled over to the chimera while asking, "Are you okay?"

Zelgadis groaned as he rolled over. As he was about to sit up he felt a hand cup his cheek and pulled him back down. He felt the back of his head lay on something soft and a shadow came over him. As Zelgadis opened his eyes he saw Sylphiel over him applying some water to a rag. After the rag was soaked she rolled it up and placed it on Zelgadis forehead. Sylphiel sighed before saying, "No, don't move and calm down for a moment. If you don't want the other here for now that is fine but I'm not going to leave you like this Zelgadis."

Zelgadis felt the cold compress on his head and it did help to calm him a bit. As he was coming down from his fit of anger he covered his eyes with his hand before saying, "I'm sorry Sylphiel. I did not mean to lash out at you...but I never wanted any of you to see me...like this."

Sylphiel gently quieted Zelgadis before flipping the compress over. She smiled while saying, "It doesn't matter. I was just passing through but if you are in enough anguish to drink like this then I can't move on until I know you are better. Please allow me to stay here for a while."

Zelgadis sighed as he removed his hand for his eyes and said, "Fine...you may stay as long as you like."

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><p>It was late at night and Zelgadis had passed out from drink. Sylphiel had not stopped him today but she planned to tried and work on that starting tomorrow. But, first she had one more task to complete before allowing herself to go to sleep that night. She sighed as she wrote on the piece of paper. After she finished the letter she put it in an envelope and wrote a name on the front. She then quietly made her way out the house and to the inn. She knocked on the door a few times before the innkeeper came and opened the door. The old man smiled before saying, "I'm glad you are okay my dear...but what are you doing out so late?"<p>

"I need you to send this letter off for me please."

The innkeeper accepted the letter and watched as the young woman made her way back towards the house on the hill. He looked down at the letter to see the name on the front was, 'Lina Inverse.'

Sylphiel sighed as she walked and thought, 'I know I said I would not involve them but I'm going to need someone that knows him better than me. My best bet is Miss Lina...hopefully I can help Zelgadis enough until she can get here.

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><p>Disclaimer: Any characters or ideas from <strong><span>The Slayers<span>** do not belong to me. I am not selling this material, just writing for the heck of it as I go.

Feedback is requested, please send all comments to


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